Global News

[ad_1] Finance Minister Ishaq Dar rolled out the numbers for budget 2023-24 in the National Assembly with a cold conviction, as if torn between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) diktats and the hopes of a people pauperised by runaway inflation. While some analysts initially labelled the budget as a reasonable attempt given the constraints on Pakistan’s economy, detractors quickly entered the fray by launching a succession of broadsides against the finance minister. Some criticism directed against the finance minister was partially caused by Dar’s post-budget statement about Pakistan seeking to reprofile or reschedule its bilateral debt. All this commotion, however, has left the common people confused about how to evaluate the performance of the coalition government, in general, and that of Dar, in particular. To develop a better purchase of this budget, there is a need to properly contextualise this policy document by identifying the political and economic pressures on Pakist...

[ad_1] MUMBAI: Wadia group-owned Go First expects to receive Rs 210 crore under the government's credit line guarantee scheme next month as the budget airline seeks to boost its financial position and expand operations. The airline, which received Rs 210 crore from the promoters last month, aims to have 53 operational aircraft in its fleet by the start of April this year, its CEO Kaushik Khona told PTI. The airline currently has 37 aircraft in operation. Apart from the coronavirus pandemic headwinds and intense competition, the no-frills airline is grappling with the Pratt & Whitney engine issues that have forced it to ground many planes due to a shortage of spare engines. Under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), which has come as a relief for many pandemic-hit sectors, Go First has so far availed Rs 600 crore. With promoters' infusing Rs 210 crore, the airline will be able to get an equal amount under the ECLGS next month, Khona said. In an inter...

[ad_1] The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) criticism of Pakistan’s latest budget suggests chances are rising that the lender will opt not to deliver long-awaited aid before its bailout programme finishes at the end of June, Bloomberg reported. “This would cause a severe dollar shortage in the first half of the fiscal year that starts in July, and possibly for longer — significantly raising the odds of default, Bloomberg economist Ankur Shukla said in the report, Pakistan Insight. “It would also raise the prospect of much lower growth, and higher inflation and interest rates than we currently anticipate in fiscal 2024.” The IMF criticised the budget for not taking enough steps to broaden the tax base and for including a tax amnesty. The country’s foreign currency reserves currently stand at $4 billion. With at least around $900 million in debt that must be repaid this month, the reserves will fall by June-end unless the IMF aid comes. Between July-December, Pakistan mus...